2:50 pm, Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Piper McLean was in her fourth and final period of the day, Ancient History when she got the call.

That alone was weird, because she rarely used her phone, let alone get a call on it. So when she pulled it out and saw it was her dad, who was in LA, dread tugged at her gut.

The teacher allowed her to go into the hallway to take the call, and Piper rushed out, worried. She picked up the phone, and after a second of quiet, her father's voice came over the phone.

"Piper!" His voice was worried, and she could almost see him tugging at his greying hair.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Pipes, I have no idea how, but the paps know what school you go to. I have my team on it, and I'm hiring a lawyer already, but right now they can still come." Piper's jaw dropped and her bag slid off her shoulder and onto the floor.

Piper hated the paparazzi with every fibre of her soul. Since the day her birth had been announced, they refused to leave her alone.

When she was younger, the questions they would ask her were sweet. They would ask about her hair and clothes, and sometimes Piper would answer. But as she got older, they started to ask about the rumours around her, about the identity of her mother, and whether or not she had a boyfriend.

The last time she had been spotted in public was nearly a year and a half before. And the encounter had ended in her yelling at them, cursing them out and telling them that they could stick their questions up their asses.

Her dad had been displeased, not with her, but rather that they wouldn't leave her alone. So he'd kept her schools and location a secret. They didn't go out as much, and when they did, it was a short trip.

The paparazzi were one of the many things that had ripped her away from her dad, and she didn't want them ruining her life again. She didn't want her friends to be thrust into the spotlight that came with being the (boy)friends of the daughter of The Tristan McLean.

But that too was being ripped from her hands, and she wanted to scream, and break down in the hallway, right then and there.

"Pipes? Are you okay, sweetheart?" He asked, cutting through her thoughts.

"I-I-" tears stung in her eyes, and her voice was thick with emotion.

"Hey, hey, don't cry, it's gonna be okay. They're not gonna get their hands on you for long. Can you deal with them for a week?"

"Yeah, I think so. I just need to tell my friends what's going on. Love you."

"I love you too. It's gonna be okay, and we're going to get this fixed as soon as possible." And with that, the line cut. Piper started to make her way back to class, but the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day.

She made her way to her locker, keeping her head down. She started packing up her bag, thinking about how to tell her friends when she felt arms wrap around her waist.

The familiar scent of Jason Grace, her boyfriend, enveloped her and she closed her eyes, taking in his smell. She turned to face him and gave him a quick peck on his lips.

Percy and Annabeth came up, hand in hand. "You guys ready to go?" Percy asked.

"Something is going on I need to tell you," Piper said.

"Is everything okay?" Annabeth asked, her free hand straying to where her new knife rested in its sheath.

Just as Piper was about to reply, they heard someone speak near them. A freshman was talking to his friend when he said "The paparazzi outside apparently. Wonder who they're here for."

Piper winced. Her friends all looked at her, horror donning their faces.

"Oh, Pipes," Annabeth said, taking her hands. "Were gonna figure this out, okay?"

Piper glumly nodded her head, and Jason hugged her again. She looked up at him, then at Percy and Annabeth. "You guys go ahead, I don't think you want them to know we're friends."

Percy looked ready to protest, but his face fell and he looked glumly at her. He nodded his head, before hugging her tightly, and telling her to be safe. Percy and Annabeth left, and two minutes later she heard their motorcycles tear out of the parking lot.

Piper turned to Jason. "Why didn't you go with them?" she asked.

"I'm not letting you do this alone."

"Jase, you don't understand, their gonna be all over this, and I don't want you to have to-"

He put his finger to her lips, shushing her. "We do this together. Always." He put his forehead against hers and she had to smile. Her brave, idiotic boyfriend.

He took her bag and his, and wrapped his arm around her. They were about to turn the corner, in which they would become visible to the paparazzi when he stopped her and whispered into her ear. "Let's give them the show they're looking for."

She grinned, and together, they rounded the corner.

For a moment there was nothing, but that didn't last long. Soon enough bright cameras were flashing, and people were throwing question after question at her. A roar started to assault her ears, and she tightened her grip on Jason.

When they left the building, the yelling got louder, but it was accompanied by shrieks. She turned to her left and saw a group of teens, around her age or younger, shrieking. They were waving posters and taking photos with their phones. (Why were her ears roaring like this?)

Jason and she managed to make it to their motorcycles with little hassle, and when he kissed her on her cheek, she heard the roar grow louder. She could barely think straight as she secured her bag on her back. But when she put her helmet on, the roar diminished and she could think again.

She nodded at Jason, and they pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Pipers least favourite people in the dust.

At least that's what it seemed like.

A few moments later, a big black hummer was tailing them.

A memory flashed across her mind. She vaguely remembered the day Princess Diana had died, in a very similar situation to this. She remembered how distraught her dad had been, and she remembered how afraid he had looked.

It was one of her earliest memories, which was ridiculously fucked up, and she remembered how every time the paparazzi would tail their car, how anxious and afraid her dad would look.

Piper pulled ahead on her cycle, signalling to Jason to follow her.

At the next light, she tried to communicate her plan to Jason. She pointed to him than her, then spread her fingers. We'll split up.

He nodded.

She pointed to a sign then her. I'll give the sign. He nodded again.

The light turned green, and they sped off. At the turn right before the one, she would take to get to Percy's, she gave him a thumbs up. He nodded and revved up the engine.

The light turned green.

The two of them sped off. She turned back to see that the hummer was still following her, and she pressed closer to her bike and sped up.

She reached the intersection and made a sharp turn to the left, and then another turn. If all went well, Jason would have continued forward, and they would have followed him.

She waited for a minute, looking to see if she was followed. When she was certain they had lost her, she continued down the street.

She reached the apartment garage and parked. She made sure it was in a shady corner, so if they decided to look for her, and looked into this garage, they wouldn't see her bike.

She rushed up the stairs to the main lobby and slammed her hand on the button for the elevator. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited, and when the doors finally dinged open, she rushed inside and pressed the button for her floor.

Once the doors closed, she sagged against the wall. She took off her helmet and took her keys to the apartment. She leaned against the cool metal, taking deep breaths, and calming herself down.

The doors opened, and she made her way down to the Jackson-Blofis-Plus-Annabeth-Jason-and-Piper-Apartment. She reached the door, unlocked it and made her way to the living room.

The second she stepped into the room, Sally jumped off her armchair and hugged her. Piper clung to her, letting a few stubborn tears fall.

Sally guided her to the couch, where Percy and Annabeth sat. She moved to sit next to Annabeth, but she was pulled between the couple. Percy took her bag and helmet from her and disappeared down the hall.

Annabeth brought her attention to the TV. "We're watching TMZ right now. We wanted to see what they were saying about this, and unfortunately," her eyes hardened and her lip curled, "They're all over it." She shook her head, disgusted.

Sally spoke from the armchair. "They're acting like vultures who've just seen some fresh roadkill."

Piper stared at the screen. Paparazzi photos of her and Jason flashed across the screen. A voice continued, "...suspected that the boy that Piper McLean was spotted with is her boyfriend."

Another voice spoke up. "Yeah, that's what we heard. He is yet to be identified."

They continued until the commercial break. Piper turned away from the screen, watching the door. During a commercial for some sort of medicine, the door opened and an obviously tired Jason Grace walked in.

He discarded his stuff in the front hallway. He trudged into the living room and collapsed on the opposite end of the couch. Piper got out from between her two friends and moved next to him. His arm wrapped around her, and they turned to look back at the screen.
TMZ was back on. "Today, Piper McLean, daughter of Tristan McLean, was spotted for the first time in almost a year and a half. She was spotted with a guy, who is suspected to be her boyfriend." The images flashed on the screen again.

"The presumed couple was followed in the streets of New York. At some point, Piper split off, and the other boy led paparazzi on a wild goose chase for a few minutes. Eventually, they realised that it wasn't Piper they were following but instead-Wait I've just gotten a report that Tristan McLean has spoken on the issue."

A tweet flashed on the screen and the person started to read. "Today, some of my daughter's private information was released. Not only was she put in a compromising position by the Press," the next tweet popped up. "she was chased through the streets of New York City today. This behaviour sickens me, and I would like to make it known," next tweet "that my daughter's life is not for you to prey upon. What happened today is disgusting, and all I ask is that you leave my daughter alone."

They started to chide his statement, saying that the paparazzi were allowed to take photos of people. Piper grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. She sat, holding the remote for a moment, but she threw it to the floor and stalked to the room she shared with Jason.

She walked in and slammed the door, locking it as well. She fell onto the bed, trembling in anger and frustration.

She heard the door handle move, but the person couldn't get in. She heard a sigh, and then a light knocking. "Pipes?" came the voice of Jason from the other side of the door.

She got up and unlocked the door. He opened it, stepped in, and locked it again. Just as she was about to flop back down onto the bed, but Jason grabbed her arm. He turned her around so she was facing him.

She looked at him, her body slightly trembling as she met his eyes. He looked at her for a moment before he hugged her tightly. She was tense for the first few moments, but eventually, her body gave out, and she relaxed into his arms.

She wasn't sure when the tears came, but eventually, she was crying furious tears. Her hands were pounding against him as she cried and maybe yelled, but he just continued to hold her, and soothe her anger down.

She eventually lost the strength to continue hitting things, to continue crying, to continue to scream. She sagged into him, clutching his shirt. He guided her to the bed and laid her down on the white sheets. He laid behind her, and one hand trailed up and down her back, and the other traced around her knuckles.

"It's not fair." She hissed.

"No, no it's not." He whispered. He placed a kiss at the nape of her neck and got up off the bed. He moved so he was in front of her. "I'll call in for you tomorrow okay? Just get some rest."

"Okay." She whispered.

Piper closed her eyes but opened them again. After a moment of hesitation, she stood up, discarded her pants and shirt, pulled some old sweats on, and burrowed into bed. Jason placed her laundry in their basket, before kissing her.

He turned to leave, but Piper stopped him. "Wait."

He turned back to her. "Everything okay Piper?"

"Stay with me."

"Pipes I've got homework to do."

"You can do it next to me."

"Pipes, I-" his voice faltered. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Oh okay," he mumbled. He kissed her forehead. "Let me just go grab my stuff."

He left the room, and Piper felt like the room had grown empty. But the second he came back in, his bag slung over his shoulder, it felt lively again.

He pulled some textbooks out of his bag, and some paper. He grabbed a pencil and a clipboard from the desk and sat next to her. She fell asleep to the sound of a pencil scratching against the paper, pages turning, and her boyfriend right next to her.

10:00 am, Friday, September 17th, 2010

The sun filtered through the window, and Piper blinked her eyes against the harsh light. She felt a warm arm that was pressed against her skin. She managed to turn and see Jason watching her.

He grinned as she turned to face him, his electric eyes lighting up.

"Good morning, sleepy," he whispered.

"What time is it?" She asked, reaching a hand out to trace a scar on his chest.

"Ten o'clock."

Piper shot out of bed or at least tried to. Jason's arm held her down, preventing her from moving much. "Jason, we-we have school!" she said, trying to move again.

"Hey, hey, hey it's okay. You and I aren't going today." He said.

"Why?"

"The paparazzi are still there, and Goode doesn't want to endanger you or me again. Percy and Annabeth aren't going either. They're gonna figure out security this weekend, so we are not going today." He told her.

"Oh," she said, closing her eyes.

She could feel him staring at her. She felt his arm lift, and his fingers trailed down the side of her face, down her neck, and across her collarbone. They stayed there for a moment before they trailed to her shoulder blade. His fingers slid under her bra strap and started tracing patterns there.

She let out a sigh of bliss, and let herself enjoy the moment. But her good mood started to the soil, as she understood the enormity of what had happened yesterday.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

Piper opened her eyes to see him staring at her, his brow creased in worry. "You looked kinda angry, and you were starting to shake," he told her.

She looked away, deciding to focus on the fabric in front of her. "Piper?" he asked.

No answer.

"Pipes?"

She stayed silent.

"Love?"

She gripped the sheets, her eyes squeezed shut, yet a stubborn tear rolled down her face.

His hand came to her cheek, where he wiped the tears away. "Sweetheart, it's gonna be okay. Can you just tell me what's wrong?"

She stubbornly shook her head and tried to put her face in the pillow, but he held her face forward. She felt his other arm slide out from under her and felt the shift of the bed that signalled he was sitting up.

She felt more tears fall, and she managed to croak out her answer. "Every time I have something, something good, the paparazzi come and rip it from my hands. My dad gets close to me again? Nope, I can't go out with him without being spotted. I get a boyfriend, a private life? Yeah, not any more." She laughs bitterly.

"And they're all over us. You saw the news last night, that's all they were focusing on. And the press always ruins relationships, and-and," more tears fall as she continues, but Jason doesn't move or speak, "I can't lose you Jase. I can't lose you."

"You're not gonna lose me. We're together, no matter what." He says to her. He manages to get her to sit up, and once he does, he holds her tight.

Her legs wrap around his waist, and her hands get lost in his hair, her face resting in the crook of his neck. His hands rest on either side of her bare waist, and his thumbs rub circles into her skin.

She's hiccuping as she starts to cry more, but he doesn't seem to mind. He comforts her in Latin, but she's not quite sure what he's saying. But yet, hearing him speak Latin with his deep voice makes her feel so safe like this is home and he's holding her.

Eventually, she breaks away and looks at him. He's handsome, with his honey blonde hair that seems to glimmer with the sun's rays, his blue eyes that always look at her like she's the only thing they can see. And the scar on his lip, a stark white line against his tanned skin. It moves and stretches when he smiles.

His hand traces a scar on her neck, before tracing her face again. At one point, his finger runs down her nose, and he taps the tip, and says "Boop."She laughs at the simplicity of it all.

She feels like a normal girl, who's just enjoying a moment with the person she's in love with.

She lays back into bed, and turns his back towards him, trying to fall back asleep. She feels him lay down behind her, but judging from the patterns he's tracing on her skin he's not sleeping again.

She's probably not going to fall asleep again, she realises after sitting there for about ten minutes. She asks Jason a question, "How long was I asleep?"

He's quiet for a moment, doing the math in his head."Almost eighteen hours." He says.

"Wow," she mumbles. "Guess I was pretty tired."

"Yeah," he says, pulling her close to her, and kissing her head, "wow."